Caesarstone

Caesarstone Ltd
Public
Traded as NASDAQ: CSTE
Russell 2000 Component
Industry Manufacturing
Founded 1987 (1987)
Headquarters Sdot Yam, Israel
Revenue IncreaseUS$ 538.54 million (2016)
IncreaseUS$ 92.80 million (2016)
IncreaseUS$ 74.60 million (2016)
Number of employees
 1,108
Website www.caesarstone.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

Caesarstone Ltd., or Caesarstone (Hebrew: אבן קיסר‎, Even Qeysar), is a publicly traded company that engages in the production and marketing of quartz surfaces used for kitchen countertops, vanity tops, flooring, wall cladding and general interior design. The company was founded in 1987 and is traded on the NASDAQ in New York (CSTE). Headquarters are located in Kibbutz Sdot Yam in Israel, and its production facilities are in Israel and the USA. Its products are sold in approximately 50 countries around the world through a network of 6 subsidiaries and numerous distributors.

Company profile

Aerial view of Caesarstone factory near Caesarea's Roman amphitheater
Caesarstone's production line
Caesarstone's quality control

Caesarstone Ltd. manufactures quartz surfaces in three different sites, two in Israel – Kibbutz Sdot Yam and the Bar Lev Industrial Zone near Karmiel, and in its new plant in Richmond Hill, GA, USA, since May 27, 2015. Its products, which are sold in over 50 countries around the world are used in the interior design of both residential and commercial buildings. Common uses of Caesarstone's products include quartz surfaces for kitchen countertops, vanity tops, wall-cladding, flooring and interior design of commercial spaces such as offices, restaurants, hotels, museums, and more. Caesarstone's main competitors are companies that make use of materials such as lamination and natural stone, and other companies that manufacture quartz surfaces such as Superior Zodiaq, Silestone and Cambria. There were reports of over inflated Caesarstone figures in their Annual Reports to investors. Caesarstone is criticized for marketing inflated Quartz content at 93% instead of actual quartz content at nearly 88-89% to reduce its losses. The name Caesarstone comes from the company's location near Caesarea.[2]

History

The Caesarstone factory commenced its operations in 1987, at Kibbutz Sdot Yam, replacing its terrazzo tile factory. The company was established in the wake of development work performed jointly by members of the kibbutz and additional parties such as Professor Moshe Narkis of the Technion. After changing the focus from sale of floor tiles to quartz surfaces and establishing itself in the domestic market, the company started to export its products to different countries around the world. In 2005, an additional production facility was opened at the Bar-Lev Industrial Park. In 2006, TENE Investment Fund invested 25 million dollars in exchange for 21.7% control in the company, which led to the adding of another production line at the Bar-Lev facility.

In 2008, the company began establishing subsidiaries in its main markets: Australia (2008), Canada (2010), USA and Singapore (2011) and UK (2017) along with activity conducted through distributors in approximately 50 countries.[3]

In 2012, Caesarstone started trading on NASDAQ in New York under the ticker symbol CSTE.

In 2015, Caesarstone opened a new facility in the USA with an investment of about 100 million dollars. The plant was built in Richmond Hill, Georgia, and provides quartz surfaces mainly to markets in North America, and other countries as well.[4]

Products

Caesarstone's R&D has led the company to manufacturing durable quartz surfaces, while enabling control of the color and texture of the surfaces. Thus, a wide variety of colors and samples may be offered.

The company's products are marketed according to four collections:

  • Classico – the classic collection in a variety of colors.
  • Supernatural – design inspired by natural stone created through innovative technology combining colors, veins and special textures.
  • Motivo – surfaces with imprinted textures in various design templates.
  • Concetto – surfaces made from semi-precious gems cut and set manually. Some of the Concetto surfaces are semi-transparent, enabling the addition of back lighting.

Quartz surfaces require only minimum maintenance and do not require periodic sealing as with natural stone surfaces.[5]

Target audience

Caesarstone markets its quartz surfaces in over 50 countries around the world, to both the private and business sectors. Caesarstone surfaces are installed in millions of homes around the world, as well as in commercial projects such as hotels, restaurants and offices.[6][7][3]

In the USA, quartz countertops have supplanted granite as the people’s choice, and Caesarstone surfaces can be found in homes and kitchens of the rich and famous such as Tommy Hilfiger, Cher, Alexandra von Furstenberg, and more.[8][9][7][10][3][6]

Collaborations

As part of its marketing efforts, Caesarstone collaborates with a variety of designers and architects from around the world in making creative exhibits with its material. These exhibits have been presented in both domestic and international exhibitions, including Milan Design Week, and have been ranked in the list of leading exhibits by the world's most well-known design magazines.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

Caesarstone encourages collaborations and competitions between Architects and Designers to create best kitchen designs.[18][19]

As part of its commitment to the future generation, Caesarstone initiates activities and competitions for students in Architecture and Design departments worldwide.[20][21]

Financial performance

Caesarstone's operations are impacted by the performance of the home remodeling and new construction sectors of the economy.[22]

In 2016, the global quartz surface industry constituted about 6% of to the total global surfaces industry, valued at about 95 billion dollars. In 2016, Caesarstone's share in the quartz surface market (in its leading markets) was: Israel 84%; Australia 55%; Canada 36%; USA 19%.[23][3]

In 2016, Caesarstone registered a revenue of 539 million dollars, 1.7% higher than the forecast. The net profit stood at 2.15 dollars per share as opposed to 2.12 dollars per share. For 2017, Caesarstone expects that revenue will stand at 580-595 million dollars and EBITDA in the range of 119-126 million dollars.[24][25]

2012 Nasdaq IPO

In February 2012 Caesarstone filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to execute an initial public offering of up to $115 million and list its shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Among the companies involved in the IPO were J.P. Morgan, Barclays, Credit Suisse, and Baird.[26][27] Caesarstone's 6.7 million shares began trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on 22 March and priced at $11 each.[28][29] Between March 2012 and January 2013, Caesarstone's share price rose 59%, making Caesarstone the second-best non-American IPO performance for 2012.[30] By early February 2013 the value of Caesarstone's stock had soared 88%, and it further extended its rally to 127% by month's end.[31][32]

In 2015-2016, Caesarstone encountered challenges which included discord between shareholders and kibbutz members, departure of board members and CEO, and a report by Spruce Point hedge fund claiming that the company's quartz surfaces contain less than the commonly accepted amounts of quartz, and yet are still sold at premium prices. In 2016 the share price declined compared to its former peak, however in H1 2017, Caesarstone shares climbed 23 percent; thus, Caesarstone's value stands at 1.49 billion dollars.[33][34][35]

Social and environmental commitment

Caesarstone works together with sustainability organizations around the world in the field of green building. All its facilities are certified according to the ISO 9001 standard for quality management systems.

The Sdot Yam and Bar-Lev facilities are certified according to the ISO 14001 standard for environmental management systems. The U.S. facility operates in compliance with the health, safety and environment procedures required under the law and is in the process of certification for ISO 45001. All Caesarstone surfaces meet the GREENGUARD standard of the American GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI), certifying that Caesarstone products comply with the most stringent standards with regard to emissions in the home environment, including the GREENGUARD Children & Schools standard that permits use of the surfaces in school and children's environments.

In addition, Caesarstone is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and holds LEED certification.

Caesarstone surfaces meet the NSF51 (National Sanitation Foundation - Food Equipment Materials) standard of the International Health and Safety Foundation and are safe for use in contact with foodstuffs. Caesarstone has been awarded the Good Housekeeping stamp of the Good Housekeeping Institute.

Due to their low porosity, Caesarstone surfaces have Kashrut Certification issued by the Tzomet Institute.[36]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Caesarstone financial data at Yahoo finance".
  2. ↑ Yasur, Eran (2012). "Company title origin (Hebrew)". YNET.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Investors Presentation". Caesarstone.
  4. ↑ "A Web page about the US production site". Caeserstone.
  5. ↑ "Company profile". caesarstoneus.com.
  6. 1 2 "Interior design article about T Hilfiger's home". architecturaldigest.com.
  7. 1 2 "Interior design article with description about Caesastone". mariobatali.com.
  8. ↑ "Interior design article about Los Angeles Residence of Alexandra Von Furstenberg". architecturaldigest.com.
  9. ↑ "Interior design - Neil Patrick Harris' home". architecturaldigest.com.
  10. ↑ "Interior design article". Washingtonpost.com.
  11. ↑ "design-inspiration". caesarstone.
  12. ↑ "case-studies". jacobperes.com.
  13. ↑ "salone-del-mobile". wallpaper.com.
  14. ↑ "10 unmissable exhibitions and installations at Milan design week 2016". dezeen.com.
  15. ↑ "TOP 20: designboom's guide to milan design week 2017". designboom.com.
  16. ↑ "25 Things to See at Milan Design Week 2017". interiordesign.net.
  17. ↑ "20 must-visit exhibitions at Salone del Mobile Milan 2017". architecturaldigest.in.
  18. ↑ "Video - Reno Rumble 2016 - Kitchen Reveals - Australia". Youtube.
  19. ↑ "Video playlist kitchen of the year 2016". Youtube.
  20. ↑ "A Collaboration with Pratt Institute". Caesarstone.
  21. ↑ "STUDENT DESIGN COMPETITION BRIEF UPDATE". blog.caesarstone.co.za.
  22. ↑ Daniel, Robert (22 March 2012). "Israel's Caesarstone relies on silica, not silicon". MarketWatch. Tel Aviv. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  23. ↑ "Financial article (Hebrew)". themarker.com.
  24. ↑ "Financial article (Hebrew)". calcalist.co.il.
  25. ↑ "Caesarstone Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2016 Results". caesarstone.com.
  26. ↑ Fox Rubin, Ben (16 February 2012). "Caesarstone Files For $115M Initial Public Offering". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones Newswires. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  27. ↑ "UPDATE 1-Caesarstone Ltd. sees IPO priced at $14-$16/shr". Rueters. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  28. ↑ Stynes, Tess (22 March 2012). "Caesarstone IPO Of 6.7M Shares Prices Below Expected Range". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones Newswires. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  29. ↑ "Caesarstone Sdot-Yam closes slightly above IPO price". Reuters. 22 March 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  30. ↑ Lazaroff, Leon (10 January 2013). "Kamada to Babylon Seek U.S. Listing After Jump: Israel Overnight". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  31. ↑ Stilwell, Victoria (6 February 2013). "Caesarstone Soars to Record as Outlook Beats Estimates". Bloomberg. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  32. ↑ Wainer, David; Spears, Lee; Stilwell, Victoria (20 February 2013). "Wix Said to Pick JPMorgan for IPO in New York: Israel Overnight". Bloomberg. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  33. ↑ "CaesarStone posts 2Q profit". finance.yahoo.com.
  34. ↑ "CSTE Current-Valuation". macroaxis.com.
  35. ↑ "A financial review (Hebrew)". Globes.
  36. ↑ "environmental commitment". caesarstone.com.
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